Should You Go To A Chiropractor For Scoliosis?
Should you consider taking your child to see a chiropractor if they have scoliosis? Scoliosis is a condition that is very difficult to treat for most of the medical profession for years, with most of the treatment being by orthopedists. If one day, your child gets sent home with a note from the school nurse saying they have scoliosis, what should you do?
Eight-five percent of scoliosis cases are called idopathic, which more commonly means "we have no idea how you got this." If all health care providers are going to diagnose the condition as "idiopathic," how can they possibly hope to treat it effectively?
A lot depends on the severity of the curve and the patient themselves. In more severe cases, there's not real proof that chiropractic (or any other conservative method) will do any good for the scoliosis patient. That's when a full brace or surgery options may be explored.
In minor curve situations, doctors of chiropractic have their own positive results in treating spinal curves and making changes to their patients' spines. Patients of all ages, shapes, and sizes have seen visible proof on x-ray that after a course of treatment, their spines have gotten much closer to an optimal state.
Since no double-blind research studies have been done, they are unable to verify this information, so it's reasonably difficult for the medical community to give it their stamp of approval. They instead have taken to "observing" minor curves and hoping they don't become major curves that require surgery.
Not all chiropractors are qualified to take on a scoliosis patient, and the hope would be that they would tell you as much. That's the specific question to ask your chiropractic doctor candidate, "How many scoliosis patients have you successfully treated?" Some chiropractic office specialize in such treatment and can show you that they are indeed able to help the condition.
The bottom line is that no health care provider (chiropractic, medical, or any other) can absolutely guarantee your child's results when it comes to scoliosis, there's just too much unknown. You can hope that your diagnosis is a spinal misalignment and not true scoliosis, in which case chiropractic will definitely help.
A visit to a chiropractor, an initial consultation, and perhaps a four to six week trial of chiropractic care is reasonable to check out. Your medical doctor may say it won't help, but there's no indication to say that it will make anything worse. If I had a condition that may require surgery, but that the specialists were telling me to just "watch and see," I'd look for a doctor ready to take action.
Eight-five percent of scoliosis cases are called idopathic, which more commonly means "we have no idea how you got this." If all health care providers are going to diagnose the condition as "idiopathic," how can they possibly hope to treat it effectively?
A lot depends on the severity of the curve and the patient themselves. In more severe cases, there's not real proof that chiropractic (or any other conservative method) will do any good for the scoliosis patient. That's when a full brace or surgery options may be explored.
In minor curve situations, doctors of chiropractic have their own positive results in treating spinal curves and making changes to their patients' spines. Patients of all ages, shapes, and sizes have seen visible proof on x-ray that after a course of treatment, their spines have gotten much closer to an optimal state.
Since no double-blind research studies have been done, they are unable to verify this information, so it's reasonably difficult for the medical community to give it their stamp of approval. They instead have taken to "observing" minor curves and hoping they don't become major curves that require surgery.
Not all chiropractors are qualified to take on a scoliosis patient, and the hope would be that they would tell you as much. That's the specific question to ask your chiropractic doctor candidate, "How many scoliosis patients have you successfully treated?" Some chiropractic office specialize in such treatment and can show you that they are indeed able to help the condition.
The bottom line is that no health care provider (chiropractic, medical, or any other) can absolutely guarantee your child's results when it comes to scoliosis, there's just too much unknown. You can hope that your diagnosis is a spinal misalignment and not true scoliosis, in which case chiropractic will definitely help.
A visit to a chiropractor, an initial consultation, and perhaps a four to six week trial of chiropractic care is reasonable to check out. Your medical doctor may say it won't help, but there's no indication to say that it will make anything worse. If I had a condition that may require surgery, but that the specialists were telling me to just "watch and see," I'd look for a doctor ready to take action.
About the Author:
Philip Vincent is a health care educator. Need a Chiropractor in Houston? Consider this Houston Chiropractor.